The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre is a film, like Psycho, that
eventually earned a reputation for being bloodier than it actually is.In Psycho, the effect was
artificially created using music, editing, and extreme camera angles to make the
audience believe they were seeing more than they actually were.In Massacre, the film maintains such a grisly, unnerving atmosphere
that you walk away from it considerably more disturbed than if you had watched a
pure slasher film.No matter how
many times I watch it, I have to remind myself afterwards that there are in fact
only four murders shown in the movie, and only one of the four comes via the
infamous chainsaw.

The film also stands as evidence of what a creative
filmmaker can do to achieve horror despite obvious budget limitations, linking
this picture with other classics like Night
of the Living Dead, The Hills Have Eyes, The Evil Dead, and more recently, The
Blair Witch Project.It is the
latter film that most makes me think of Massacre,
and vice versa.

Director Tobe Hooper doesnít gloss over the disturbing
nature of his film.He revels in
it.From the crazed hitchhiker who
slices open his own palm to the eventual revelation of the nature of the
ďfamilyĒ, he creates images designed to go straight into your gut and churn
your stomach.Even the opening
shots, which are mostly black but reveal bits and pieces of rotted corpses as
flashbulbs pop off, establish the mood immediately, and the picture never loses
it.

A vanload of kids, including Sally (Burns) and her
wheelchair bound brother Franklin (Partain) are heading through the hot Texas
landscape to their old family home (after picking up and then quickly discarding
the aforementioned hitchhiker).One
by one they venture to the little house across the way, and they donít come
back.One piece at a time, we see
the disturbing mentality of the people who live there, as they have constructed
furniture and other pieces of ďartĒ out of both animal and human remains,
among other aspects.

When Sally and Franklin go looking for their friends after
dark, their quest is cut short by Leatherface, who makes quick work of Franklin
with his trusty chainsaw, leaving Sally running through the woods, screaming in
terror, being pursued by the brute.

I donít want to give too much away for those who
havenít seen it yet, but all of this culminates in the legendary dinner table
sequence, which is one of the most horrifying and unnerving of all horror film
scenarios.Ms. Burnsí terror and
screaming ability is rivaled only by Heather Donahue in Blair Witch.

Needless to say, this is not a film for all tastes, nor
does it try to be.All I can say
about it in conclusion is that it is an important film, being a true pivotal
point in horror movie history, and that it succeeds in what it sets out to do
despite some limitations.Itís
almost too disturbing to be the kind of horror film you watch with friends just
to have a good time, which is another point that sets the movie apart.But itís impossible to overlook or under-appreciate the way the film
creates and maintains not just suspense, not just scares, but real, genuine
terror, in a way many other films have imitated but few have equaled.

Video **1/2

Being that this DVD looks better than any previous VHS copy
of the film Iíve owned, I really wish I could give it a higher rating.This may be the best the movie will ever look without a major, full scale
restoration effort.Despite noticeable improvements, the picture still suffers
from its age, as well as some noticeable scars, and a bit of murkiness, grain
and image break-up during some of the darker scenes (which arenít likely to be
ones where youíll be thinking about the transfer quality).According to the box, itís a ďDigital SuperscanĒ
transfer, but it looks like the master source might have been a videotape rather
than film.

Audio ***

You have your choice of soundtracks, either original mono
or a newly remixed surround track. I personally prefer the surround--it
sounds fuller, with more range and more openness. But again, if you like
the film and have owned only VHS versions in the past, youíre likely to be
pleased with this offering.

Features ****

What a package!The
disc features a commentary track with Tobe Hooper, Gunnar Hansen and DP Daniel
Pearl, deleted scenes, alternate footage, a blooper reel, a bevy of trailers and
TV spots (including all films in the series), and a gallery of photos and
promotional items.

Summary:

The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre is an experience, and a movie whose name has become synonymous with
horror.Thereís never been a
better home video presentation than this DVD, so if the film suits your tastes,
the buzz is, this is a definite must-buy.